Nationwide roll-out of LANKAQR begins

The LANKAQR Nationwide Rollout Campaign was launched on October 25, 2021, at the Central Bank, with the aim of popularising LANKAQR payments among small and medium merchants as well as consumers, as the prevalent digital payment method in the country. 

At the invitation of Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, this event was held with the participation of Youth and Sports and Development Coordination and Monitoring Minister and Digital Technology and Entrepreneur Development State Minister Namal Rajapaksa (chief guest), Highways Minister Johnston Fernando, Ornamental Fish, Inland Fish and Prawn Farming, Fishery Harbour Development, Multi-Day Fishing Activities and Fish Exports State Minister Kanchana Wijesekera and Aviation and Export Zones Development State Minister D.V. Chanaka.
The heads of several government departments, financial institutions, payment service providers as well as heads of retail, health and media institutions were also present.

Rajapaksa commended the Central Bank on introducing digital payment methods such as LANKAQR code payments to the country and stated that such payment methods are what is required for Sri Lankan consumers to move towards the future of digital payments. 

He further explained that the youth of the country are interested in moving towards digital payments rather than continuing with traditional transaction methods and therefore he believes that LANKAQR could be popular amongst the younger generation.

Cabraal stated that it is imperative to make digital payments fast, effective, easy and secure, in order to popularise them among the public. He went on to state that Sri Lanka must continue to embrace digitalisation in all spheres and that the LANKAQR initiative is a step in this direction.

During the event, the Central Bank facilitated the onboarding of several government and retail institutions by LANKAQR-certified banks, so that these institutions may now accept LANKAQR payments from customers. 
In the current environment of the COVID-19 global pandemic, it is now more important than ever to reduce the usage of cash and move towards digital payment methods and hence, with this LANKAQR Nationwide Rollout Campaign, the Central Bank is confident that the public will utilise LANKAQR for their daily transactions, at a greater frequency. 

The LANKAQR code initiative was introduced by the Central Bank as a national QR code standard that provides a convenient digital payment solution using mobile devices. By scanning the LANKAQR code, customers are able to make payments directly from their bank account to the accounts of merchants or service providers, promoting customer convenience, security and the use of digital transactions, as opposed to cash. 

Further, LANKQR provides merchants with a low-cost method of accepting digital payments. To facilitate LANKAQR transactions, 21 financial institutions have been certified to date with a total of 24 mobile applications, with LankaClear (Pvt.) Ltd being the network service provider.